From life crisis to lifelong learning: Rethinking working-class 'drop out'

From life crisis to lifelong learning
A number of students experiencing difficulties academically were advised by their
personal tutors to work in groups to support each other. However, this had
sometimes proved unsuccessful because many students appeared to mix with
others of a similar academic level:
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Yes I made friends … The ones I made friends with most were the same
as me. They found some of the coursework was difficult.
(Male)
For some students it proved difficult to become involved socially. Those who feel
they are on the wrong course and who express lower levels of commitment to
studying may have similar feelings about committing to new friendships and social
activities. Social life was not easy even for those who desired it; some, particularly
women, spoke of making a friend rather than friends, having meals alone and the
difficulty of becoming part of a group.
Part-time and local students can experience barriers to social involvement (e.g. time
on campus and transport difficulties) and, while some students who remained living
in the family home expressed less desire to be involved in the social side of
university, others regretted that they had been unable to move away to university,
feeling that they had missed out on the ‘real’ student experience:
… the people who lived there [university] were part of the environment,
whereas I felt like a bit of an outsider. Even though I lived around here
and it was my town. I felt like an outsider compared to the other people
who were there.
(Female)
Local students and part-time students are in theory able to access support from their
existing friendship groups and family. In reality, this may not always be the case.
Students whose friends have not entered HE may find that withdrawing confirms
expectations in that ‘all my mates were expecting me to quit anyway’.
Students whose old friends have also gone to university may be reluctant to discuss
problems they are experiencing personally because:
They [their friends] had done it and they succeeded. I didn’t mention that
I was struggling with the course or even talk about my thoughts of
leaving.
(Female)